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"blah blah" equals speech -'blah blah'- equals thought
Performance
It is night. I hear Jia outside the door. She is so timid.
I have been practicing since this morning. I only hope it is enough.
"Come in." I hear Jia's intake of breath. She didn't even knock. I smile.
The door opens slowly. She is carrying different clothing. "How did you know?" I don't answer her. I just stare into her eyes. They are a depthless brown. I could loose myself in them. She blinks. I blink. "These clothes should fit you better." She unfolds them. A blue shirt and black pants. Much better.
"Thank you." I take them. She smiles. I strip off my shirt. Her eyes widen as her cheeks turn scarlet and she averts her eyes. I smile at this. My intuition is right. -' She is interested in me.' The shirt fits much better. - 'She has a brother, she tended my wounds, my bare chest should not cause her to blush.'
I turn around. I take off my pants. The black ones fit well, even on my small waist.
"I'm dressed." I smirk as she turns around and sees me.
She catches her breath. "Uh." she stares "time to go."
"Wait." I grab her wrist. She looks at me. I drop it. "Never mind."
As I follow her through the winding hallways, I realize something. -' The more time I spend with her, the more I become Ryo Chuin again.'- I am not sure I like this. Ryo Chuin was weak. Shy, like her.
Tomo is strong. Tomo has been called rash and impulsive. Tomo is a Seiryu Seishi. Tomo is above all evil. Tomo would have killed the girl and her family and razed the inn to the ground just because they dared to assume he needed assistance.
I clench my fists. -' I AM Tomo. Not Ryo Chuin.'-
"Are you ok?" I feel her hand on my arm, light like a feather.
I snatch my arm from under her grasp. "Don't touch me!" My words are harsh, much harsher than I intended. "Just take me to where I perform."
My tone hurt her. "Of course." She lowers her eyes. "This way."
She leads me into a large common area. A fire is lit. It gets cold at night in the desert. There is only one empty table. They stop talking. They stare at me, eyes watching as Jia leads me to a cleared corner of the room.
"Who is that?" I hear a man whisper. Another man snorts in answer. I stop in front of his table.
"Excuse me sir." My voice is polite, my intentions are not. "Would you be as so kind to help me?"
"With what?" His voice is slightly slurred.
"With my performance of course." My eyes light up. I am going to humiliate this man, he won't even know it, the people will love it.
He eyes me skeptically. "Sure, I'm always up for a good laugh." He stands. I smile indulgently.
The plans I had made and the routine I had practiced, I won't use them. I only need to perform one trick. One perfect illusion and everyone in the inn will love me. They will tell their friends about me and they will come.
I turn away from where Jia is leading me. I see her mouth open to protest. I ignore it. I steer the man to the center of the room. "Now sir, if you would please?" I indicate for him to stand with my hand and dipping of my head. "Just stand." I turn to the crowd. "What would you good folk of this inn like to see this man do?" My voice drips with sarcasm, no one notices.
"Dance!" "Pay his tab!" "Turn him inta somthin'!" "I'm hungry!" a chorus of voices rise. I laugh as I know what I will do.
"Let us make him fly!" I say softly. My eyes narrow as a smile creeps onto my face. "And then dinner will be on me!" A cheer. I quiet it with a gesture of my hand, my stage persona is coming back. I concentrate. A goose. An awkward, ugly animal. People also find it funny. To everyone in the room he must look like a goose. With a flurry of hands, for show, I make him look like a goose.
A gasp. It worked.
"How'd he do dat?" "What?" "Huh?" people circle the squawking bird. A man grabs what he thinks to be the goose's neck, he is in fact choking the man. I can hardly contain my mirth as the people manhandle the "goose".
"What bout food?" "Yea, ya said somthin' 'bout food!"
"Why you are holding it." The man looks at the "goose" he is holding.
"Where's Lin?"
"Over there." I wave my hand, an illusion of the man forms in a dark corner.
The people eye the "goose" with hungry eyes. "YEAH!!!"
"Help! Help!" Only I can understand the man's words, to everyone else they are honks.
"Keke." I cannot help but cackle as the man's friends drag him to the back to be slaughtered and eaten, not hearing his pleas and cries. They have no idea. It will take them a while to notice Lin's absence and by then they wont even remember tonight. Money is thrown my way.
I turn. Jia's mouth is open. "What?" She looks at where Lin had been. "How?"
I wink. "For me to know." I whisper in her ear. She shivers. I turn away.
I am in an odd mood tonight. Feeling more like my old Tomo self, but then again different. I am getting a perverse joy out of twisting Jia's emotions, something I would not normally enjoy.
"Goodnight." I start for my room.
"Ryo Chuin?" My name is a question.
I ignore her. I flee from the commons.
My room is my haven. I close the door. Silence. I breathe. I didn't realize I'd been holding it.
-' It's ok.'- I tell my conscience. -' He deserved it.'- I sneer. -' She deserved it. I will not let these people stop me from returning to my general. I have delayed to long.'-
Pain. My back burns. My wound is protesting all of my activity. I move towards the bed. Pain. I lie down. My breathing is heavy. I close my eyes. Darkness.
"blah blah" equals speech -'blah blah'- equals thought
Performance
It is night. I hear Jia outside the door. She is so timid.
I have been practicing since this morning. I only hope it is enough.
"Come in." I hear Jia's intake of breath. She didn't even knock. I smile.
The door opens slowly. She is carrying different clothing. "How did you know?" I don't answer her. I just stare into her eyes. They are a depthless brown. I could loose myself in them. She blinks. I blink. "These clothes should fit you better." She unfolds them. A blue shirt and black pants. Much better.
"Thank you." I take them. She smiles. I strip off my shirt. Her eyes widen as her cheeks turn scarlet and she averts her eyes. I smile at this. My intuition is right. -' She is interested in me.' The shirt fits much better. - 'She has a brother, she tended my wounds, my bare chest should not cause her to blush.'
I turn around. I take off my pants. The black ones fit well, even on my small waist.
"I'm dressed." I smirk as she turns around and sees me.
She catches her breath. "Uh." she stares "time to go."
"Wait." I grab her wrist. She looks at me. I drop it. "Never mind."
As I follow her through the winding hallways, I realize something. -' The more time I spend with her, the more I become Ryo Chuin again.'- I am not sure I like this. Ryo Chuin was weak. Shy, like her.
Tomo is strong. Tomo has been called rash and impulsive. Tomo is a Seiryu Seishi. Tomo is above all evil. Tomo would have killed the girl and her family and razed the inn to the ground just because they dared to assume he needed assistance.
I clench my fists. -' I AM Tomo. Not Ryo Chuin.'-
"Are you ok?" I feel her hand on my arm, light like a feather.
I snatch my arm from under her grasp. "Don't touch me!" My words are harsh, much harsher than I intended. "Just take me to where I perform."
My tone hurt her. "Of course." She lowers her eyes. "This way."
She leads me into a large common area. A fire is lit. It gets cold at night in the desert. There is only one empty table. They stop talking. They stare at me, eyes watching as Jia leads me to a cleared corner of the room.
"Who is that?" I hear a man whisper. Another man snorts in answer. I stop in front of his table.
"Excuse me sir." My voice is polite, my intentions are not. "Would you be as so kind to help me?"
"With what?" His voice is slightly slurred.
"With my performance of course." My eyes light up. I am going to humiliate this man, he won't even know it, the people will love it.
He eyes me skeptically. "Sure, I'm always up for a good laugh." He stands. I smile indulgently.
The plans I had made and the routine I had practiced, I won't use them. I only need to perform one trick. One perfect illusion and everyone in the inn will love me. They will tell their friends about me and they will come.
I turn away from where Jia is leading me. I see her mouth open to protest. I ignore it. I steer the man to the center of the room. "Now sir, if you would please?" I indicate for him to stand with my hand and dipping of my head. "Just stand." I turn to the crowd. "What would you good folk of this inn like to see this man do?" My voice drips with sarcasm, no one notices.
"Dance!" "Pay his tab!" "Turn him inta somthin'!" "I'm hungry!" a chorus of voices rise. I laugh as I know what I will do.
"Let us make him fly!" I say softly. My eyes narrow as a smile creeps onto my face. "And then dinner will be on me!" A cheer. I quiet it with a gesture of my hand, my stage persona is coming back. I concentrate. A goose. An awkward, ugly animal. People also find it funny. To everyone in the room he must look like a goose. With a flurry of hands, for show, I make him look like a goose.
A gasp. It worked.
"How'd he do dat?" "What?" "Huh?" people circle the squawking bird. A man grabs what he thinks to be the goose's neck, he is in fact choking the man. I can hardly contain my mirth as the people manhandle the "goose".
"What bout food?" "Yea, ya said somthin' 'bout food!"
"Why you are holding it." The man looks at the "goose" he is holding.
"Where's Lin?"
"Over there." I wave my hand, an illusion of the man forms in a dark corner.
The people eye the "goose" with hungry eyes. "YEAH!!!"
"Help! Help!" Only I can understand the man's words, to everyone else they are honks.
"Keke." I cannot help but cackle as the man's friends drag him to the back to be slaughtered and eaten, not hearing his pleas and cries. They have no idea. It will take them a while to notice Lin's absence and by then they wont even remember tonight. Money is thrown my way.
I turn. Jia's mouth is open. "What?" She looks at where Lin had been. "How?"
I wink. "For me to know." I whisper in her ear. She shivers. I turn away.
I am in an odd mood tonight. Feeling more like my old Tomo self, but then again different. I am getting a perverse joy out of twisting Jia's emotions, something I would not normally enjoy.
"Goodnight." I start for my room.
"Ryo Chuin?" My name is a question.
I ignore her. I flee from the commons.
My room is my haven. I close the door. Silence. I breathe. I didn't realize I'd been holding it.
-' It's ok.'- I tell my conscience. -' He deserved it.'- I sneer. -' She deserved it. I will not let these people stop me from returning to my general. I have delayed to long.'-
Pain. My back burns. My wound is protesting all of my activity. I move towards the bed. Pain. I lie down. My breathing is heavy. I close my eyes. Darkness.